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[PTA] Bide - Dead Game is Dead, See Last Post

Welcome to the world of pokemon! My name is BIRCH. But everyone calls me the POKEMON PROFESSOR.

This world is widely inhabited by creatures known as “pokemon”. We humans live alongside pokemon, at times as friendly playmates…

Spoiler:

…and at times as cooperative workmates.

Spoiler:

With our combined talents we can achieve much more than we could on our own.

Truly we could not even hope to survive without these invaluable partners. For without them we could not hope to face the challenges of the environments surrounding us. But thanks to them, we can do so much more than day to day survival! With the help of pokemon we can brave the skies, the sea floor, hidden caverns, and treacherous mountains.

Spoiler:

But despite this, we still do not know everything about this world, pokemon included.

Spoiler:

To unravel Pokemon mysteries, I've been undertaking field research. That's what I do.

So, are you ready? Your very own adventure is about to unfold. Take courage, and leap into the unknown!

What is this? What is this?!

Spoiler:

Pokemon Tabletop Adventures, or PTA, is more or less a d20 system adaptation to the pokemon franchise, in particular the video games. This homebrew setting contains rules for capturing, evolving, battling, breeding and otherwise developing your pokemon, essentially everything one can do in the video games. However in addition to that the system contains rules for developing your trainer into a variety of different paths, becoming more than just someone who owns pokemon (see Meet the Classes for more detailed info).

Finally, instead of the game’s system for HM moves to enable the protagonists to move about the environment, PTA gives pokemon capabilities, including intelligence, ability to fly, telepathy, swimming, and raw strength, that help a GM determine how players can influence the environment without the arbitrary nature of whether you possess the appropriate HM move to move onward that the games fall back on.

This particular game will start out on Boon Island of the Sevii Islands, though it won’t necessarily be exactly as it was presented in the games. The majority of the game proper will take place in the Hoenn region.

Unlike the video games and the anime it won't be targeted to kids, as excellently described by notsoy in his game thread.

What this means is that the world as a whole is much more dangerous than you may be thinking. Wild Pokémon and unsavory fellows alike will be all too happy to attack en masse, or to attack you instead of waiting to see the Pokémon you send out...unless you defuse the situation before it comes to that, of course. And if things go south and you go down, let’s hope your teammates can bail you out…or that you pass the saving throw against death.

But there’s three PTA games already!

Spoiler:

And this makes the fourth! I’m going for something thematically separate from the other three games, though there’ll definitely be familiar moments from time to time. Without spoiling too much, I’d like to point out that the Hoenn Region is, as a whole, a lot less well-developed than Johto and Kanto. As a personal decision, technology is a bit less advanced, though not by much, than the modern world, as people generally choose to rely on their pokemon to work with them, especially in Hoenn. Traveling through the vast wilderness areas of Hoenn will be a bit more difficult than in other games, with trainers spending days, sometimes even up to a week, traversing a route.

Ooh, can I play?

Spoiler:

Sure! The expectation is that each player post once a day (barring vacations, emergencies, etc.). Essentially, take a good hard look at your schedule, and determine if you can reliably spare 30 minutes a day on this game. See character creation guidelines, below, for details on that process.

I’ll be accepting 3-5 players for this group. Order of applications will not matter, and newcomers (those not in a current PTA game) will have an advantage over submissions from forumers who are already in games.

[strike]Submissions will be going until AT LEAST November 4th, 2010. I may extend the time further depending on a variety of factors.[/strike]
Official deadline is November 5th, 2010 at 12 PM (noon) EST, 5 PM GMT.

The Story So Far…

Spoiler:

A secretive event is about to be held by Devon Corporation by people lucky enough to discover a DEVON TICKET in a piece of merchandise. Potions, pokeballs, TMs… Devon Corporation produces a great deal of Pokemon merchandise, and rumors of DEVON TICKETs have been found in a very wide variety of products, almost everything that can be found in a Poke Mart or Department store. Somebody even claimed to have found one in a RAGECANDYBAR, a rumor that was quickly quashed by Devon Corporation… if it wasn’t already obvious from RAGECANDYBARs having nothing to do with Devon Corporation.

You have all, through luck or determination, managed to acquire a DEVON TICKET. No word was given on what the ticket was really good for, until exactly one month before the annual PokeExpo, an exposition of technologies from the leading technological firms the world over, scheduled to be hosted in Mauville City in the Hoenn region.

It was on that day that Devon Corporation has announced a pre-exposition exposition taking place on Boon Island, one of the Sevii Islands in between Hoenn and Kanto that was rumored to have recently undergone significant development.President Stone encouraged families that possessed a ticket to give these to their young children who would be going on a pokemon journey soon, if at all possible. He also issued a statement that the primary purpose of this event was to demonstrate a new invention of Devon Corporation that would also be shown at the expo in Mauville the following week.

...though what was of more interest to many were the luxury accommodations and free merchandise that would be provided at the event. Who knows what sort of sweet new poke ball a young trainer could score? To sweeten the pot even further, free transportation and admission to PokeExpo was also to be provided to these lucky few. DEVON TICKET holders from all over were given travel accommodations to take them to the largest port city of their region, which would then take them via boat to Boon Island.

Character Creation Guidelines

In addition to stating your character and selecting your starter (you do not need to stat out your starter just yet), please provide a backstory of your character. A good starting point may be to think of how your character acquired a Devon Ticket (see below) and their starter.

The newest edition of the rules can be downloaded here. The player's handbook contains all that you need to stat out your trainer and your starter.

Age

A pokemon trainer needs to be at least roughly old enough to get a driver's license in our world to get his or her trainer's license. This license allows trainers to carry up to 6 pokemon on his/her person and use the PC storage system, among other things. It also technically allows the trainer to travel abroad, though the social norm for pokemon trainers to stay at home/school until they are 18, perhaps occasionally venturing to a nearby route or location. For minors, persuading their parents to let them go early (especially considering how terribly dangerous the world is) can be a bit...difficult.

Long story short, trainers must be aged 15+, though most if not all trainers you will meet on your journey will be 18+ years old.

Specific Guidelines

Level 1 trainers, with one level 5 starter pokemon. You will probably want to spend your first trainer feature on a trainer class feature.

P$3000 in cash to spend on items as one sees fit (or keep the cash), and 5 free pokeballs plus one free great ball. Your character will also start with some supplies, including one pokedex (or technological equivalent), assorted travel gear (something like clothes, a backpack, and a bedroll), and potentially a weapon. List any other tools or gear you would like to own and we can work out how much they will cost, if anything. Generally only things that give your character a tangible advantage will have a value.

Include a list of 5-10 non-legendary Pokemon you would like to encounter in the game for whatever reason. This list need not be final.

Choosing a Starter

Generally any pokemon that can evolve at least once is an acceptable starter, with the exception of some of the rarer pokemon. I may provide egg move(s) to starters with problematic early movesets (such as abra lacking any form of attack).

Here are the basic starters by region:

Kanto

Spoiler:

Bulbasaur
Squirtle
Charmander

Johto

Spoiler:

Chikorita
Totodile
Cyndaquil

Hoenn

Spoiler:

Treecko
Mudkip
Torchic

Sinnoh

Spoiler:

Turtwig
Piplup
Chimchar

Here is a list of some other permitted starters, though not being on this list does not mean that a pokemon is not an acceptable starter.

1. (stolen from Marshmallow’s game) Pokemon have a hit point total equal to (10 + HP stat x 3 + level), as opposed to (HP stat x 3 + level). This makes pokemon deaths a less frequent occurrence at low levels, where otherwise a lucky critical hit could spell the untimely end of a pokemon.

2. [strike]Arms features are going to be tuned down to their old values, before they were significantly buffed by the developers of PTA. I believe that when limited-use damaging features of the more combat-oriented classes (martial artists and psychics, primarily) are less damaging than a simple weapon attack that can be repeated indefinitely, something is inherently flawed in the system. The pre-buff values are still rather low and will be given a boost eventually, but for now we’ll be reverting to the values given here.[/strike]

Edit: They are currently as follows:

The various melee weapon feats are 1d10 + statmod + STR with the [weaponname] user feat, 2d8 + statmod + STR with the [weaponname] proficiency feat, 3d10 + statmod + STR with the [weaponname] mastery feat. You still have to take the various weapons features to use them (you start out with some weapons user feats for free from your class), but for melee the damage is universal.

Basically the arms features should be an option for a trainer that doesn't want to be helpless in combat, but also not so absurdly powerful that they're pretty much a required three features for anyone and vastly outshine martial artist and psychic abilities.

I might adjust these values later, but I suspect if I do it will be buffing them further.

3. I’ll be watching Marshmallow’s game with interest as to how his proposed breeder changes work. If myself and the final group likes the changes, they may be implemented.

4. Not really a houserule as item prices aren’t part of the core rules, but lemonade, fresh water, soda pop, and lava cookies are extremely difficult to find. Players will not be able to purchase any before the game starts, and they will only be available in limited locations in certain areas.

Other house rules may be added as the game progresses, though I'll try to limit them to beneficial house rules.

Meet the Classes: Contains useful descriptions of all basic and advanced classes.Items List (note that Fresh Water, Soda Pop, and Lemonade will only be purchasable in certain locations, and not during character creation)Main Features: An outdated, incomplete list of the features that contains the versions of the Arms features that the game will start with. (Exception: Rangers are gifted Short Blades User for free, as added in the latest update).

Telekinesis: Psychic Feature
At-Will
Target: Any object that you may lift.
Effect: Add your INT and CON modifiers and multiply the total by 5 pounds.
This represents the weight you may lift and items you may target with Telekinesis. Multiply your
INT and CON modifiers then multiply that product by 3-meters. This is how far the target can be.

Telepathy: Psychic Feature
At-Will
Target: Any other human, some may be immune to Telepathy
Effect: You may read the surface thoughts of other humans, as well as project your surface thoughts to other humans.

Sly is a tall man, about 6'8" or 6'7", dark, and would be handsome if you washed the grime off of him. He's got stringy, mid-length, hair, a strong jaw, and an ever-present crop of stubble. He wears a beat-up duster with dozens of weird fetishes fastened on it in one way or another, and usualy wears a western shirt and some jeans under that. His business-partner Rasputin, on the other hand, is on the meeker side, smaller than usual, with a tattered bit of ectoplasm trailing off of him, and blood-red eye-lights.

Background:

Spoiler:

Sylvester was born in a tin roofed shack out in the middle of the woods to Margret Bogwater, a Soothsayer. He's lived on that same plot of land all his life, although the shack has graduated into a cozy log cabin. Or, the cabin would be cozy if not for the Taillow corpses strung up everywhere, or the strange crocodile-like skull over the door that you swear is looking at you. The fucker.

The Bogwaters have been supplying the good people of Fortree with potions, seances, and curses for the past twenty years or so, and Margret has become the local bogeyman (or woman). Problem is, Sly was never really good at all of this Shamanistic Tauros-shit. I mean, he coulp pull off a decent con if you made him, but his heart's never been into it. I'd guess it's because he's an actual psychic. For as long as he could remember Sly could see things, what happened in the room five minutes ago, where that no good sunovashedinja went, who walked the route before you, where the missing McMillon Sister went. Random, mostly useless, bullshit. Well, anyway, time passes, mom dies, and Sly gets to thinking that there might be a way to monetize this little gift of his, maybe a psychic detective service (lost persons a specialty). After using a little start up money to get himself a new PokeGear, he finds himseslf a Golden Ticket. How very fortunate.

His father, Yashirou, was a roaming practitioner of Shorinji Kenpo, a popular variant of the venerated Shaolin Kung Fu. His mother, Sarah, was a skilled Trainer who, despite making a decent living from her winnings, never became a true celebrity in the world of Pokemon.
Some years after they initially met, they married and settled near Sootopolis City, with his father establishing a Shorinji dojo that maintains a steady student base. Their first child was a boy, who was named Hiryu – his mother later gave him the modern name Herman. Over time, Hiryu found that his true passion lay in martial arts. His father taught him what he could, but eventually decided that his son would be better served by a musha shugyou, or martial journey. Traveling the world would be an excellent test of his mind, spirit and body, and would teach him innumerable life lessons.
As his family helped him assemble the requisite supplies, they encountered a Devon Ticket that gave him an all-expenses-paid trip to the Sevii Islands for a technological trade show. At his mother's behest, Hiryu left for Boon Island to begin his journey, as both a martial artist and a Pokémon Trainer.

Appearance: Unlike larger, more intimidating famous Martial Artists such as Bruno, Hiryu possesses a (comparatively) lean sort of strength that pairs well with his middling size (6'0", 180 lbs). His brown hair is cut short, and he often wears a knotted red headband to keep hair and sweat out of his eyes. He is usually either wearing white sweatpants with a white t-shirt, or a white Shorinji gi (though he is rarely bold enough to do so in public).

Personality:

Spoiler:

Modest, disciplined and confident, Hiryu seeks to refine what his father taught him of Shorinji Kenpo. Although his mother has done her best to teach him academics and Pokémon training, he is not as apt a student of such disciplines as he is of martial arts. His chief interest is in honing his fighting skills, and he avidly seeks whatever martial arts-related experience and knowledge he can get his hands on. However, he appreciates combat in almost any shape or form, including Pokémon battles.

The offspring of his mother's Swampert, who managed to breed a new baby Mudkip for him some years back as a surprise gift. Gorou's laid-back, often-inattentive personality is a sharp contrast to Hiryu's quiet intensity, but the little Mud Fish Pokémon is very loyal to Hiryu, and takes its self-assigned task of protecting and caring for the young man seriously.

I really would like to get in on this, I'm really new to the system though so be warned on that front. Also I am currently in the planning stages to GM a Dresden Files game on this forum if that disqualifies me. I can definitely post once a day though so there is no problem on that front. I'll get a character up here as soon as possible though.

GM of M&M "And Justice For All."
GM of Dresden Files Low Life
GM of Star Wars Sagas Into the Unknown
GM of Star Wars Sagas Lost Hope- Concluded
GM of Star Wars Sagas the Dark Times- Concluded.
GM of Star Wars Sagas Jabba's Palace- Concluded due to injury.
Bart Allen/ The Flash in M&M Metropolis- Concluded.
Koyi Disturbances in the Force- Concluded.
Jessup Owlbeard Forge of the Dawn Titan- Withdrawn due to injury.
Sal Mander In the Shadow of Zeus- Concluded.
Zevoto in Out in the Black- Withdrawn due to injury.
GM of Wyvern Watch
Berru Secune in Rise of the Jedi

I really would like to get in on this, I'm really new to the system though so be warned on that front. Also I am currently in the planning stages to GM a Dresden Files game on this forum if that disqualifies me. I can definitely post once a day though so there is no problem on that front. I'll get a character up here as soon as possible though.

That really shouldn't pose much of a problem, plus I don't like to penalize GMs for providing games to other players. How much time people have to play in pbps varies from individual to individual, though if someone is in an extremely large number of games they may want to address how they will be able to find enough time to play.

Also as a minor clarification, Devon Corporation merchandise can be purchased anywhere, not just in Hoenn, so your characters can come from anywhere. In the other regions a Devon Corporation poke ball may be harder to find in a store than a Silph Co poke ball, but it can be done, and some merchandise (the special poke balls that were introduced in Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald in particular) is produced solely by Devon Corporation.

Alright so I've worked out a concept for my trainer and his starter pokemon, sorry if there are any mistakes with either though. Essentially think a Breeder with a bit of battling mixed in. He's more interested in meeting all kinds of pokemon and raising them to be happy and strong than in seeking glory. If any of this needs changing I'm more than willing to fix stuff.

Appearance: Brown hair, brown eyes, wears glasses, pretty much always wears jeans and weathered t-shirt either black, blue, or green. Always carries a dark green backpack with him in which he carries his belongings. Carries his pokeballs in a black leather pouch that he ties to his belt.

Description: As far back as he could remember Jon wanted nothing more than to be a pokemon trainer just like his mother. She'd been a legend! In fact most people agreed that she was greatest trainer that the unimpressive town known as Gatteon Port had ever given birth to. He constantly begged to borrow one of his mother's pokemon to play with but she always refused and told him he'd have to wait until he was a little bit older. After years of waiting he decided he simply couldn't wait for his chance any longer.

The harbor was home to dozens of pokemon, not strong ones like his mother had trained, but they would surely play with him and that was all he really wanted. Climbing down to the rocky shore he swam out a short distance hoping to draw one of the pokemon to him but he was caught in a current that started dragging him out to sea. Unable to fight the ocean's strength or cry out for help Jon struggled with all his might before sinking beneath the waves.

Luckily a Squirtle who had been nearby intervened and helped him reach shore, each of them were exhausted to the point of collapse by the time they arrived. When Jon woke up safely in his bed the next day he found the Squirtle that had saved his life waiting for him to wake. Grateful to the tiny pokemon he began caring for it and over time the two of them developed a bond of friendship as close as any trainer and pokemon. Still dreaming of a pokemon journey of his own Jon set a new goal for himself. He would try and meet pokemon who he could befriend and raise to be as happy and strong as they could, he would also do his best to help pokemon who had been mistreated by their trainers.

It took weeks to convince his mother to let him go on a trainer journey. When he managed to find a Devon Ticket, one of the prizes being sought by people all over the world, washed up on the beach while walking with Squirtle he knew he couldn't let the chance pass him by. Finally she relented and allowed him to set sail aboard a ship that would carry him to a place that would have pokemon he'd never seen before...a place called Boon Island.

Personality: Brave, loyal, and not above seeing how much mischief it can get away with Squirtle has been Jon's friend and companion for years. The water pokemon will take on any opponent if it is asked to do so and do it's best. The only thing sturdier than Squirtle's shell is it's resolve to finish what it starts.

Pokemon List

Spoiler:

*Mankey
*Caterpie
*Zubat
*Sandshrew
*Charmander
*Venonat
*Meowth
*Chikorita
*Grimer
*Tauros(I have played every pokemon game since the first one and never ever gotten to catch a Tauros. Always wanted to though. I love those guys.)
*Phanpy
*Heracross

Honestly any pokemon capture by my character will produce child like squeals of joy that are highly inappropriate considering my advanced years.

GM of M&M "And Justice For All."
GM of Dresden Files Low Life
GM of Star Wars Sagas Into the Unknown
GM of Star Wars Sagas Lost Hope- Concluded
GM of Star Wars Sagas the Dark Times- Concluded.
GM of Star Wars Sagas Jabba's Palace- Concluded due to injury.
Bart Allen/ The Flash in M&M Metropolis- Concluded.
Koyi Disturbances in the Force- Concluded.
Jessup Owlbeard Forge of the Dawn Titan- Withdrawn due to injury.
Sal Mander In the Shadow of Zeus- Concluded.
Zevoto in Out in the Black- Withdrawn due to injury.
GM of Wyvern Watch
Berru Secune in Rise of the Jedi

Even though she lacks any actual talent at it, Jamie’s number one hobby has always been taking pictures of things. One of her earliest memories was pouring through the dusty bookshelf of back issues of National Pokégraphic in her grandparent’s house, looking at all the great safari zone pictures done by such larger than life figures as Todd and *Cameron*. If a creepy old bald guy could get people happily having their pictures taken when they least expect it, why couldn’t she?

Unfortunately, her own attempts at getting pictures fizzled. She soon learned the joys of autofocusing on anything except for the target of her camera, and lens flares that enveloped the whole picture. Even worse, her attempts at emulating the great Cameron’s style of surprise photography failed even more horribly, with those attempts that weren’t met with quick brush offs being ignored entirely, even with flashes going off right in their faces.

Jamie probably would have gone on being a horrible artist type if it weren’t for a stroke of luck. While the target of her photo, a happy pachrisu receiving a massage in the underground, was completely unintelligible, the pair of thieves sneaking out of the department store’s warehouse with conspicuous sacks of loot wasn’t.

This too probably would have gone unnoticed if it weren’t for the international police member who had been following them noticing the camera and finding the picture. With a clear view of their faces, it wasn’t hard for the goldenrod police to track down and arrest the thieves. In fact, upon examination of her “pokedex” scrapbook (which contained only a couple pictures that were actually recognizable as pokemon in it) a half dozen formerly cold cases were able to be closed, with evidence of various misdeads, and Jamie was recommended to the ranger corps.

A month of chasing after various misdemeanors and her record was a lot less notable, the only major break being catching the ringleader of a minor band of shoplifting pokemon. At least that aipom seems to have taken to her well, he even occasionally brings her presents he “finds.”

In fact, just the other day, while they were investigating some incidents of pickpocketing by the GTS, Handy found this shiney ticket thing. Wonder where he found it, not like they sell much Devon corp stuff in Johto...

Appearance: The first thing you’d notice about Jamie, that is if you notice her at all, is how short she is. Even with heels, she barely reaches most people’s shoulders. Combined with her mousey brown hair, and about as much fashion sense as a geodude, she’s used to pretty much blending into the background. Oversized, dirty T-shirts and shorts are more comfy and easier to wear anyway.

Jamie “found” handy after a week long chase around goldenrod, where the playful monkey had been leading a crime wave of shoplifting pokemon. She finally caught him when she cornered him in the underground. After a speech about how stealing was wrong, the aipom quickly capitulated and gave in, if only to shut her up. Despite that, she doesn’t really care where he “found” the items which he gives to her.

Ah yes, I did forget to mention one thing about trainer age, mainly addressing the issue that unlike in the games, no professor, parent, or other guardian could get away with sending their 10-year-old son out to battle pokemmon.

A pokemon trainer needs to be at least roughly old enough to get a driver's license in our world to get his or her trainer's license. This license allows trainers to carry up to 6 pokemon on his/her person and use the PC storage system, among other things. It also technically allows the trainer to travel abroad, though the social norm for pokemon trainers to stay at home/school until they are 18, perhaps occasionally venturing to a nearby route or location. For minors, persuading their parents to let them go early (especially considering how terribly dangerous the world is) can be a bit...difficult.

Long story short, trainers must be aged 15+, though most if not all trainers you will meet on your journey will be 18+ years old.

Jon's current age is fine, though it was probably particularly difficult to convince his mother to let him go (the once-in-a-lifetime aspect of the ticket would certainly help). If you weren't aware of the age convention and want to make Jon older, that is also fine.

Egg Factory: Breeder Feature
StaticTarget: Eggs in the possession of the Breeder.Effect: You may make up to 7 different Breeding Checks per day; the check for Breeding is 35 instead of 25; and when making Breeding Checks, your rolls are not penalized if your Pokemon spend less then 12 hours together. Your Pokemon must still have at least 8 hours together.

Natural Edge: Breeder Feature
DailyTarget: A hatching egg.Effect: Add half of your CHA modifier to any of the pokemon’s base stat and add half of your WIS modifier to any different base stat of the same pokemon. This becomes your pokemon’s new base stats.

Appearance:

Spoiler:

Fat Joe is a big guy. Some would call him fat, some would call him overweight, well, cause he is. He has brown, short curly hair, friendly brown eyes, as small nose and (usually) a big grin on his face. Few realise that under all that fat lie well trained, hard muscles.

Description:

Spoiler:

Fat Joe was a normal kid in all fashions, except when it got to food. Food was his passion, cooking, eating, even just looking at food were among his favorite passtimes. Even on a young age he was bigger than the other kids even while he did sports and spend lots of time outside. He learned to cope with his weight and although he would never be agile, he learned how to his weight to his advantage and was average in most sports. Other kids knew he had an eating problem, but never teased him with it as he was such a fun guy to have around.

One of the reasons he liked food so much was his mother. She cooked very well and spend hours a day making cookies for the neighbourhood and making all kinds of delicious dishes. One of her most famous desserts was her orange/strawberry cake. It was sweet with a hint of sourness from the oranges and Fat Joe thought of himself as her biggest fan.

Then it happened, Fat Joe got home and his mother was waiting for him, furious with anger. "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THE CAKE?! she yelled. How could you eat it!! It was for the monestary not far from here, now what can I bring them??" Fat Joe didn't know what to say, he hadn't even seen the cake today (which was a shame) and he certainly wouldn't eat it if it wasn't for him. He knew his mother always cooked plenty of good stuff for him to never go hungry. His mother didn't believe him, but let it rest after a while.

The following weeks it happened again and again. Each time Fat Joe got blamed, but he knew nothing of it. Then Fat Joe decided to stake out the kitchen to catch the cake thief during his crimes! He hid under a cartboard box and waited patiently........ After an hour of waiting it happened. Some kind of ooze-like substance came crawling under the kitchen door. In no time it was on the kitchentable and WHOOMP! swallowed the cake as a whole. At first Fat Joe was to amazed to act, but before the pokemon could escape he jumped in front of it. "You're not going anywhere!! Cake-thief!!" he yelled. The Gulpin (that's the pokemon) got really frightened and cowered in one of the corners. "Gul gul, gulpin" it said. The soft heartened Joe realised he was frightening this little guy to death, so he bowed down and petted it. "Relax, little fellow, why did you steal all those cakes?" The Gulpin looked in surprise, which was quickly followed by guild. Apparently he hadn't known those cakes were for other people. He just knew where to find delicious cakes. This is how Joe's mom found them and after Fat Joe explained the situation she forgave the little Gulpin.

Masteet (the Gulpin's new name) was allowed to stay with the family and he and Fat Joe got a nice big cake every week, and they became big friends. When Fat Joe became 18 it was time for him to set out in the world. Find delicious food and recipes and to become the best Chef their was. Yup, he wants to be the very best, like no one ever was!!

Personality: A relaxed and merry pokemon that is usually only concerned with food. He is slow to anger, but don't try and steal his food.

Pokemon List (basicly any pokemon that becomes 100kg or more, I put down more than 10, but there's no specific preference, and do not expect to catch even a quarter of them; just listed all the heavies, no steel)

It's definitely going to take place after Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald's storyline (on another note, Emerald's storyline will generally be considered the canon storyline of the three diverging gen 3 storylines). Since the R/B/Y storyline apparently took place at the same time, it'll be after that as well.

Don't particularly care about whether this takes place before or after the Johto/Sinnoh storylines, I'll say those have just recently finished in case players want to reference those in their backstory. It will also be possible to find some Gen IV pokemon in Hoenn.

Naturally, the protagonists of those storylines were a good bit older than 10 years old in this setting.

Ah yes, I did forget to mention one thing about trainer age, mainly addressing the issue that unlike in the games, no professor, parent, or other guardian could get away with sending their 10-year-old son out to battle pokemmon.

A pokemon trainer needs to be at least roughly old enough to get a driver's license in our world to get his or her trainer's license. This license allows trainers to carry up to 6 pokemon on his/her person and use the PC storage system, among other things. It also technically allows the trainer to travel abroad, though the social norm for pokemon trainers to stay at home/school until they are 18, perhaps occasionally venturing to a nearby route or location. For minors, persuading their parents to let them go early (especially considering how terribly dangerous the world is) can be a bit...difficult.

Long story short, trainers must be aged 15+, though most if not all trainers you will meet on your journey will be 18+ years old.

Jon's current age is fine, though it was probably particularly difficult to convince his mother to let him go (the once-in-a-lifetime aspect of the ticket would certainly help). If you weren't aware of the age convention and want to make Jon older, that is also fine.

Will edit this into the OP.

I'd sot of like to keep Jon at the age he is if that's alright, as long as it's not going to be a big problem for you. I'd like him to be the youngest trainer in the party so I guess if I get chosen I could adjust his age a bit. I think the most he'd be is like 17-18 though.

GM of M&M "And Justice For All."
GM of Dresden Files Low Life
GM of Star Wars Sagas Into the Unknown
GM of Star Wars Sagas Lost Hope- Concluded
GM of Star Wars Sagas the Dark Times- Concluded.
GM of Star Wars Sagas Jabba's Palace- Concluded due to injury.
Bart Allen/ The Flash in M&M Metropolis- Concluded.
Koyi Disturbances in the Force- Concluded.
Jessup Owlbeard Forge of the Dawn Titan- Withdrawn due to injury.
Sal Mander In the Shadow of Zeus- Concluded.
Zevoto in Out in the Black- Withdrawn due to injury.
GM of Wyvern Watch
Berru Secune in Rise of the Jedi

Mhmm, it's fine. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the conventions. If you were judging by the anime, for example, you could have thought that 15 was the target age for an older, wiser party member (IIRC, that's how old Brock is in the anime).

Mhmm, it's fine. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the conventions. If you were judging by the anime, for example, you could have thought that 15 was the target age for an older, wiser party member (IIRC, that's how old Brock is in the anime).

Yeah I sort of judged it by the anime and the mangas I read more than anything else. I want Jon to have some wisdom for strategy purposes, and he is going to be pretty charismatic. I do what him to be a fairly naive though. He's lived in an isolated town his whole life and this is his first time away from home. He's out on his own for the first time and he is a bit of a country rube.

GM of M&M "And Justice For All."
GM of Dresden Files Low Life
GM of Star Wars Sagas Into the Unknown
GM of Star Wars Sagas Lost Hope- Concluded
GM of Star Wars Sagas the Dark Times- Concluded.
GM of Star Wars Sagas Jabba's Palace- Concluded due to injury.
Bart Allen/ The Flash in M&M Metropolis- Concluded.
Koyi Disturbances in the Force- Concluded.
Jessup Owlbeard Forge of the Dawn Titan- Withdrawn due to injury.
Sal Mander In the Shadow of Zeus- Concluded.
Zevoto in Out in the Black- Withdrawn due to injury.
GM of Wyvern Watch
Berru Secune in Rise of the Jedi

Grey dyed hair, blue eyes, wears sunglasses during the day, wears black baggy long shorts, and a dark orchid (rimmed mossgreen) T-Shirt. Carries a overly large light-blue backpack with him. Usually carries his Pokeballs on his backpack, though he carries Forte's in his hands at all times, just in case the Gastly does something foolhardy.

Description:

Spoiler:

Hailing from the distant sleepy municipality that is Lavender town, Ripley has always dreamt of visiting far-off places, meet famous people (like the Elite-Four ghost trainers like Agatha and Pheobe, or Morte, Johto’s Ecruteak gym leader) and duel against what oddities the world of Pokemon had to offer. Unfortunately, his duties to help out Mr. Fuji as an assistant to the Lavender Volunteer Pokémon House always made Ripley felt he was missing out on the world’s opportunities. Not that Mr. Fuji was a terrible boss or anything. In fact, most of them felt quite content that the young man was helping out; relieving most of the stress that the employees felt every day. It didn’t help much that Lavender was quite a sleepy, tiny town, when compared to say, Saffron City one Route away. In fact, had it not been for Pokemon Tower, it felt as though Lavender could easily slip off the map. After all, what could any person do in a town like this?

Ripley’s dream was to not only explore the known world and see every Pokemon there was, but to see his hometown reach popular success like the other cities. He felt that he owed Lavender a spot to be back not only on the maps, but also to be a tourist destination all year around, to turn it from a small town, to a grand city that it deserves. In order to do that... he had to do something big. It was only months after he worked with Mr. Fuji, that he decided on becoming a Ghost-Type gym leader. Not only would it fit thematically with the town’s legacy of ghosts, but that would also mean he would be the first Ghost-Type gym leader in Kanto. All he needed was ‘the big break’.

As though luck was on his side, his big break soon came. See, he was out buying Mr. Fuji’s supplies for the week. Strangely, the clerk was all out of Silph Co. Standard balls and supplies. When Ripley asked him about it, he was told of some ‘hostage situation’ a few days ago. Something about a Team... Sprocket? Ripley wasn’t really paying attention. Anyway, the company had to call back all of their stock, for fear that the terrorists might have messed around with their productions. The clerk did, however had Devon Corp accessories available on hand. Ripley begrudgingly paid for those. Can’t trust anything built overseas, he’d always say (Johto was the exception, since it was technically annexed with Kanto).

He was on his way back to Mr. Fuji’s House, when he spotted a lost, wandering Gastly. The creature seemed to be injured somehow. This was Ripley’s chance to catch a Pokémon himself, without others helping him. He searched the bag, looking for a Great-ball he purchased earlier. As he opened the box to grab the ball, a small ticket fell out of it. However, Ripley was too busy focusing on capturing the nearby Ghastly.

He hurled the ball towards the unsuspecting ghost Pokémon. Before it could spot the treat, the ball impacted the monster. Within moments, the red light of the ball disappeared, indicating a successful capture. He actually caught it!

After his victory dance (which he did in private, to avoid embarrassing humiliation) Ripley went back to the bag, and caught sight of the nearby ticket that fell out. Might as well inspect it, he thought.
As he picked up the ticket, his face turned from bemused to outright surprise. He had picked up a rare DEVON TICKET! The ticket gave most of the details regarding the expo, as well as the exhibition on Boon Island.

Ripley had caught a Pokémon singlehandedly, as well as won a ticket to Devon Corp’s world expo. Not that Devon Corp had any meaning to the lad. It was the fact that only the best of the best were going to this that sparked the boy’s enthusiasm. He would meet other people, battle new Pokemon, and even see how the world looks (hell, even Boon Island sounds like a dreamland paradise to the lad's ears). After discussing the matter with Mr. Fuji, as well as explaining him about his dreams of a restored Lavender (he might as well, after all, Mr. Fuji is still his boss), the old man decided that Ripley should represent Lavender Town during that expo. It would remind people that Kanto isn’t all technology and soulless, as Mr. Fuji told him.

With his new Pokémon-in-training with him (suitably named Forte), and his equipment and supplies in check, Ripley sets off.

His dream: To see the world, and become Kanto’s No.1 Ghost Gym Leader!

Personality: Always eager to explore his surroundings, Forte enjoys floating about, creeping behind people, and generally rushes to anything he finds curious or suspicious without a moment’s hesitation. Forte has a unique way of greeting people, which is to always rush headlong towards someone’s face. Though not a creature of patience (or manners), Forte shares many of his master’s characteristics, in which he wants to see everything the world has to offer for him. In the heat of battle, Forte tends to follow a 'blast first, ask questions later' approach.

I told Dr. Mr. Stark who made this game that I would try it out one day. And while I've pissed him off and he's pissed me off, I'm going to keep my promise. I'll post a character after I get back from Military PT. Is an older gentlemen (60+ years old) ok? I'm thinking of doing a character who has wasn't adventurous during his youth but after the passing of his wife, he's decided to see the world and do his dream of being a Pokemon Trainer.

Edit: Also, Rawk. Since we're level 1, shouldn't we have a 65 pool, instead of a 64 pool when deciding on our stats?

This is correct, and a mistake I've certainly made in the past.

However you should distribute the 64 points first, making sure that you don't assign more than 14 points in any stat as the latest rules indicate. Then you can apply the attribute boost from level 1 to any stat you like, as well as the attribute boosts/penalties from choosing a trainer class.

Also a reminder that you guys don't have to stat your starting pokemon out yet if you don't want to. Choosing what stats to focus on / what nature to pick is probably the most difficult and annoyingly stat optimizingish part of the game. Whether you choose to stat your pokemon now or not will have no impact on my player picks. However, you should have an idea of how your pokemon behaves/its personality.

I have a system mechanic question if that's alright. If we're battling pokemon and we defeat them does that mean they always die? I mean I know it's a possibility from reading the Player's Handbook but do we have the option of just knocking them out? The reason I ask is I don't think my character would want to kill pokemon every time he has to fight one. Unless it was like an evil pokemon I suppose.

GM of M&M "And Justice For All."
GM of Dresden Files Low Life
GM of Star Wars Sagas Into the Unknown
GM of Star Wars Sagas Lost Hope- Concluded
GM of Star Wars Sagas the Dark Times- Concluded.
GM of Star Wars Sagas Jabba's Palace- Concluded due to injury.
Bart Allen/ The Flash in M&M Metropolis- Concluded.
Koyi Disturbances in the Force- Concluded.
Jessup Owlbeard Forge of the Dawn Titan- Withdrawn due to injury.
Sal Mander In the Shadow of Zeus- Concluded.
Zevoto in Out in the Black- Withdrawn due to injury.
GM of Wyvern Watch
Berru Secune in Rise of the Jedi

It is always alright to ask about something in the rules/system that confuses you.

Edit: Pokemon faint when they are reduced to zero hit points or lower, and can go into the negatives if they take further damage. At -100% of their maximum hit points, they run the risk of dying. Wild pokemon automatically die at this point, and trainer owned pokemon make a death saving throw based on their current level (it gets less difficult at higher levels) to survive.

Essentially it's fairly hard to kill pokemon (and the house rule means you have to deal an additional 20 damage to make it even possible), though it's possible if you aren't careful or are incredibly unlucky. When possible, using weaker attacks to faint heavily wounded pokemon is advised.

Note that this system is the same for trainers, so running out of HP isn't the end for you.

GM of M&M "And Justice For All."
GM of Dresden Files Low Life
GM of Star Wars Sagas Into the Unknown
GM of Star Wars Sagas Lost Hope- Concluded
GM of Star Wars Sagas the Dark Times- Concluded.
GM of Star Wars Sagas Jabba's Palace- Concluded due to injury.
Bart Allen/ The Flash in M&M Metropolis- Concluded.
Koyi Disturbances in the Force- Concluded.
Jessup Owlbeard Forge of the Dawn Titan- Withdrawn due to injury.
Sal Mander In the Shadow of Zeus- Concluded.
Zevoto in Out in the Black- Withdrawn due to injury.
GM of Wyvern Watch
Berru Secune in Rise of the Jedi

Something else to consider is the general temperament of Pokemon you encounter, as well as the size of the group you would be traveling in and what Pokemon, if any, you choose to have stomping about with you (as opposed to stuffing them into a Poke Ball).

Bidoofs are unlikely to accost a group of traveling Trainers, but a fairly large group of particularly belligerent Spearow/Poochyena/etc. might be up for a scrap with the PCs if they make a mis-step into their territory.

One of the shittier rules to explain to a new person, but not so hard once you get a handle on it.

The stats for a pokemon appear in the GM guide. Depending on the GM, they might not want you peeking in there for them, I don't know what Rawking prefers.

From there, you adjust those given stats for nature (a positive nature give the base stat +2, a negative nature gives the stat -2), the stats you end up with here are the Base Stats. Then, for every level past level 1 you get one point to add.

The kicker is that the relation between the base stats must be maintained. So if your pokemon has ATK as their highest stat, they can never have any other stat equal to or higher then ATK after you've added points to their stats from leveling. (Barring features that let you ignore this, but lets not deal with those yet.)

This goes for all the stats, if DEF is the second highest base stat, then DEF must always be the second highest stat that pokemon has, if SPDEF is its third highest stat, SPDEF must always be the third highest stat for that pokemon.

So if you had an Absol with HP - 7, ATK - 13, DEF - 6, SPATK - 8, SPDEF - 6, and SPD - 8. Then their base stat relation would be

ATK > SPATK & SPD > HP > DEF & SPDEF

So ATK would always be highest, followed by SPATK and SPD which would be either 2nd or 3rd place, then HP, then finally DEF and SPDEF as the lowest stats.

Note that stats like SPATK & SPD in this example don't have to be the same value, you could have them be completely different numbers, but as long as neither was equal to or higher then ATK, or equal to or lower then HP, it would be a legal statline.

There's a whole bunch of statted pokemon owned by players in the Wiki some of us are using for our campaigns. Looking over them might be useful since most of them seperate the base stats and the points they've added for leveling so you can see the starting and ending values.

GM of M&M "And Justice For All."
GM of Dresden Files Low Life
GM of Star Wars Sagas Into the Unknown
GM of Star Wars Sagas Lost Hope- Concluded
GM of Star Wars Sagas the Dark Times- Concluded.
GM of Star Wars Sagas Jabba's Palace- Concluded due to injury.
Bart Allen/ The Flash in M&M Metropolis- Concluded.
Koyi Disturbances in the Force- Concluded.
Jessup Owlbeard Forge of the Dawn Titan- Withdrawn due to injury.
Sal Mander In the Shadow of Zeus- Concluded.
Zevoto in Out in the Black- Withdrawn due to injury.
GM of Wyvern Watch
Berru Secune in Rise of the Jedi

Posting interest. I'm thinking of rolling a Researcher, and I'll post the whole shebang by the end of this weekend at the latest. Of course, the hardest decision is what Pokemon to start with... Hm.

Since I'm a complete newbie to the PA boards, I'll say this: I made this account specifically to read all the other awesome PTA threads, and I've enjoyed reading through each of them. I can also provide an online RPing credit history/resume upon request.

EDIT: Incoming character! The one thing that didn't manage to naturally make its way into the background is that he's from (and taking his doctoral program in) Kanto, though I left the exact location vague since there isn't a canon place of higher learning in the games that I know of. Also, feel free to tell me if my math is off on anything.

Frantic Research
Daily – Every 5 levels gained, you may perform this Class Feature another time per day.
Target: Any pokemon.
Effect: Roll d20 and add your INT and WIS modifiers to the roll. If you roll higher then 15, you learn what level the pokemon is.

Mitch is a nerd, but he falls into the 'dismissably charming' rather than 'creepy' half of that camp: A bit on the short side, short brown hair, contact lenses over brown eyes, and generally wearing a T-Shirt from some band, con, or research conference, with or without a white lab coat over it. He carries his belongings in a beat-up tan shoulderbag, which has additional straps to convert to a backpack.

Background:

Spoiler:

Mitch opened the door to his apartment, still staring at the DEVON TICKET he'd been given by his advisor, still processing his words in his mind: "You've lost focus on your dissertation... Bright young student... Leave of absence... Trainer's journey..."

As he closed the door behind him, he looked up at the actively flickering screen of his laptop, plugged into the desk in the corner of his tiny apartment. He pocketed the ticket, walked over to the computer, and knocked on the desk just in front of it. "Apeirohedron, come on out. I gotta share something with you." As he walked into the kitchen to grab something to drink, there was a bright flash of light behind him, and a questioning "gon?" in a synthesized voice.

Popping the tab on a SODA POP, Mitch walked past the now-blank computer, and flopped down on the couch that served as pretty much the entirety of his living room. A compact, hard-edged Pokemon of smooth red and blue facets hopped up on the cushion next to the bewildered doctoral student, synthesizing another, more urgent "gon?"

"Well, first off, I'm on a six-month leave of absence now. My advisor thinks I'm losing focus on my work, and that I need to get out of the lab and see what I'm studying in situ. I also got the impression that, if I happen to do some field work, all the better. So... In order to get my dissertation back in order - and he was pretty clear on this - I basically have to go on a Trainer's journey." Mitch takes out the ticket once more, and shows it to the Porygon next to him. "This is the first step. He said an anonymous alumni gave it to the doctoral program, and since they're asking for kids about to start on a Trainer's journey, I'm the closest thing the program has."

The Porygon's eyes widen by a few pixels, and its feet spin around. "Pory!"

"True enough. I'll take my laptop and stuff, too, don't worry." Mitch put the can of soda down on the table, and carefully put up his feet right next to it. "It won't just be stomping around in the tall grass for days on end, either. From what I've heard from other graduates, to get employed somewhere really nice, like -" he waved the ticket a little "- Devon Corp., for instance, you have to get a few Badges under your belt. People think they show that you know what you're talking about just as much as an actual P.D., so we should probably do some resume-building while we're out and about."

The Porygon sent his triangular-prism-shaped legs forward in a quick one-two jab. "Pory porgon, por!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're tough. Please, go ahead and make it easy for me, I'd love nothing better." Mitch stood up, took another swig from the aluminum can, and nodded at his companion. "I think this'll be more fun than when I won you in Celadon on Spring Break way back when. You ready for it, Pei?"

"Por!"

"Okay! Gotta admit, I always wanted to do something like this! ...But we need to clean the apartment and pack up first."

Moves:
Conversion (Pokemon becomes the type of a move the Pokemon knows)
Conversion2 (Pokemon becomes a type that resists the last attack it took)
Sharpen (Raises Attack one Combat Stage)
Tackle (At-will attack, can dash, being heavier than opponent makes attack more damaging)

Personality: Apeirohedron ("Pei" for short) is an eager kind of guy, taking on challenges as soon as they arise and never saying "can't". On the other hand, this means that he's not so much for laying the important groundwork for success, which is probably why he and Mitch work out so well as a research team: Mitch will organize and create a tactical approach to some complex problem, and then Pei can go headlong into a massive dataset without worrying about missing information or having a bad strategy. The fact that Pei is better at video games than the guy with actual thumbs is a nice boost to his ego, too.

One of the shittier rules to explain to a new person, but not so hard once you get a handle on it.

The stats for a pokemon appear in the GM guide. Depending on the GM, they might not want you peeking in there for them, I don't know what Rawking prefers.

From there, you adjust those given stats for nature (a positive nature give the base stat +2, a negative nature gives the stat -2), the stats you end up with here are the Base Stats. Then, for every level past level 1 you get one point to add.

The kicker is that the relation between the base stats must be maintained. So if your pokemon has ATK as their highest stat, they can never have any other stat equal to or higher then ATK after you've added points to their stats from leveling. (Barring features that let you ignore this, but lets not deal with those yet.)

This goes for all the stats, if DEF is the second highest base stat, then DEF must always be the second highest stat that pokemon has, if SPDEF is its third highest stat, SPDEF must always be the third highest stat for that pokemon.

So if you had an Absol with HP - 7, ATK - 13, DEF - 6, SPATK - 8, SPDEF - 6, and SPD - 8. Then their base stat relation would be

ATK > SPATK & SPD > HP > DEF & SPDEF

So ATK would always be highest, followed by SPATK and SPD which would be either 2nd or 3rd place, then HP, then finally DEF and SPDEF as the lowest stats.

Note that stats like SPATK & SPD in this example don't have to be the same value, you could have them be completely different numbers, but as long as neither was equal to or higher then ATK, or equal to or lower then HP, it would be a legal statline.

There's a whole bunch of statted pokemon owned by players in the Wiki some of us are using for our campaigns. Looking over them might be useful since most of them seperate the base stats and the points they've added for leveling so you can see the starting and ending values.

That's kinda shitty. I'd love to see Pokemon that break the mold when playing (but I ruined my chance to be on the deployment team...)

Well, it wouldn't be much fun if any pokemon could be anything, now would it?

With natures, you get a reasonable amount of control over the final details of the pokemon, you may not turn a chansey into a physical sweeper, but you can certainly determine which attack stat they'd prefer, or give them a better speed then they normally would and so on.

I don't know. When I was making my Pokemon P&PRPG, people wanted to see Bellsprout do something like being a physical sweeper. But of course doing that would mean that they had to fight against it's natural deployment and work more towards it being that. But two different systems and games, really.

Might sign up and make a character for this, Rawkking, if you're serious about the deadline being the 4th of November. Hectic weekend ahead, but I should have some time later on to work on the idea. Thinking of going with a Ranger, they seem neat.